Senators moving on energy without GOP

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Democrats on a key Senate committee bypassed a Republican boycott and this morning approved a sweeping plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a move meant to reassure other nations as the world prepares for global warming treaty hearings next month, but which figures to inflame partisan tensions in the Capitol.

The vote came after the Democrats, led by Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), invoked a procedural rule to vote even though no Republicans had showed for the meeting. Republican senators have boycotted the committee’s hearings on the bill all week, calling for a more detailed government analysis of the bill’s costs before any vote should take place.

In a statement, Boxer called the vote ‘in full accordance’ with Senate rules. She blasted the GOP tactics and stressed the urgency of fighting global warming. ‘We are pleased that, despite the Republican boycott, we have been able to move the bill,’ she said.

See the full report on the Senate committee’s energy vote.

-- Jim Tankersley